Paraphrasing (verb): using different words, especially to achieve greater clarity.
Paraphrasing is a useful skill for a wide range of situations. It can be useful in conversations with others, when you want to help them solve a problem, or when you want to make sure you are understanding them fully.
Principles:
Attend fully
Listen with the intention to understand
Capture the essence of the message
Reflect the essence of voice tone and gestures
Make the paraphrase shorter than the original statement
Paraphrase before asking a question
Use the pronoun "you" instead of "I"
Three Levels of Paraphrasing:
When you want to acknowledge and clarify what someone is saying, try one of these starters:
You're thinking that...
So, you're wondering if...
You're frustrated because...
You're hoping that...
You're concerned about...
When you want to summarize and organize, try one of these starters:
So, there are three issues.
So, you have closure on __, and you're ready to move on to __.
First, you're going to __, then you will __.
On the one hand... , and on the other hand...
When you want to capture big idea or concept, in other words, "shift the level of abstraction", try one of these sentence starters:
(shifting up, or establishing the bigger meaning into less concrete/more abstract terms as values, beliefs, identity, assumptions, goals, concept labels):
So, it's important to you that...
So, a belief you hold is...
So, you're a person who...
An assumption you're operating from is...
A goal for you is...
So you're struggling with...
(shifting down, or grounding the ideas into more concrete/less abstract terms - finding examples, non-examples):
So an example of what you're talking about is...
So this is not about...
Costa, Arthur, Robert Garmston, Jane Ellison, and Carolee Hayes. Cognitive Coaching Seminars Foundation Training Learning Guide. 9th ed. N.p.: Cognitive Coaching Seminars, 2013. Print.
"Definition of Paraphrase in English:." Paraphrase. Oxford University Press, n.d. Web. 03 June 2015